


Brave Enough

by aria_vitali



Series: Collections of History Unwritten [12]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Anger, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Comfort/Angst, Despair, Desperation, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Hope, Hopeful Ending, Light Angst, Loss, Loss of Control, Red Mage Warrior of Light, Retribution, Revenge, Secrets, Summoner Warrior of Light - Freeform, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:48:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22205893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aria_vitali/pseuds/aria_vitali
Summary: Secrets can't be kept forever. Especially not when thrown in the midst of battle.
Relationships: Aymeric de Borel/Original Character(s), Aymeric de Borel/Original Female Character(s), Aymeric de Borel/Warrior of Light
Series: Collections of History Unwritten [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1541752
Kudos: 5





	Brave Enough

**Author's Note:**

> I stayed up until 7am trying to get my thoughts together for this piece. A reimagining of the content-drought between 5.0 and 5.1 on what could have happened when WoL returns from the First. This can be considered canon to my other piece, "A Flesh Wound" where this scene occurs prior.

“My, my. What trouble.”

The familiar voice had the lord commander’s heart skipping a beat, a fire having been kindled and set ablaze within his chest. So eager was the man to determine the source of such that he had cut down the Garlean soldier he was engaged in combat with less lethal grace than he was wont. His impatience - and though he wouldn’t admit it, desperation - had him scanning the battlefield in search though he hadn’t needed to wait terribly long to find his answer.

A single figure emerged from one of the pathways created for soldiers to easily march through to hold the line. Familiar chocolate coloured hair, with certain locks highlighted to crimson, flowed with the aid of gusts. Amethyst eyes were locked on to the Garleans and their magitek weaponry; Aria had gripped a rapier in her hand, not unlike that of Halonic silver, with its crystal partner floating above the palm of the other - the crystal itself had wings akin to a butterfly attached to the delicate frame. 

More surprising was the Warrior’s choice outfit that would have put the nobles of Ishgard to shame. On her torso she wore a black fur overcoat in which the back tail piece reached her ankles, gold details sewn to the chest in a design fit for the gods themselves and fur of matching colour aligning the collar. The coat was long enough to reach mid-thigh, but the edge of a pleated skirt could be seen and the rest of her legs were covered in stockings. Her black heeled boots served to match, making her an ilm taller than her normal height.

Did she receive it as a gift? Did she have it commissioned in preparation for battle?

Aymeric had an array of questions that shot across his mind, mostly concerning her time in this other world called the ‘First’. However, they all died down as Aria brought sword and crystal together to form a makeshift staff and a pair of spells shot out in rapidfire; the first being something akin to bursts of fire erupting from within the Garleans while the second could only be described as crimson magicks that brought four spinning pillars to shape with clockwork design within. When this was said and done, Aria took steps forward until she stood at the vanguard, particularly in front of Aymeric himself.

“To think that I had brought victory to one battlefield only to be returned to another,” Aria mused in a voice as distant as the stars above.

Aymeric watched as Aria’s head shifted to her sides to take in the sights. He could feel the air around her grow heavy, a sign that her anger was growing. Not that he was surprised, for she had arrived just in time to bear witness to their line being pushed back against the wave of Garlean colossuses, vanguards and foot soldiers assaulting them at every flank. No one was spared, be they Far Eastern or among the Eorzean Alliance.

However, when she paused to stare at a pair of Ishgardian knights that had fallen near one another, Aymeric was able to discern what perturbed her immediately. The first knight bore her family crest, a white lily outlined in red, the sigil of House Lukos.* The second was of a red horned horse outlined in gold, the emblem of House Fortemps. Both of her families, her birthright and her chosen, giving so much of themselves for this war. 

It was then that the atmosphere around Aria grew even heavier, the pressure threatening to bring the soldiers around her to their knees regardless of whose side they belonged to. Her rapier had deformed in a burst of light as another weapon took its place - a grimoire of all things.

“You have left quite a mess, it seems,” Aria managed to bite out. “So much so that even my dearest countrymen are sacrificing their lives in the name of freedom.”

As the woman spoke, aetherial shards of crimson, sapphire and obsidian manifested and shattered like glass around her person. With every shard that came and passed, it became slightly harder to breathe as pressure and unbridled _fear_ consumed the hearts of Garlemald’s children. It only grew when the Warrior of Light slowly retrieved grimoire and opened it, holding it up with her left arm.

“Your lives are forfeit,” Aria announced with venom coating every word. “Repent for your sins. Though, I suppose it wouldn’t matter if your final destination is to be the deepest pit of the seventh hell.”

Taking her words as an affront to their pride, the Garleans released a chorus of shouts in succession to each other before charging once more. As Aymeric took his place at his love’s side, determined to stay close to defend her as she casts her magick, Aria simply sighed and raised her free hand to the open pages of her grimoire.

“ _Ifrit, come_ ,” Aria called. “ _You are needed_.”

From a distance, there was an inhuman cry that answered in kind and in a small area in front of Aria space contorted. There, in the snap of a finger, did a fiery creature take shape - frighteningly similar to the form of the Amalj’aa’s god, even if it was smaller in size. When it had situated itself, it released a roar that made the earth beneath Aymeric’s feet tremble before charging towards the Garlean line.

As the egi had swiped and clawed through soldiers attempting to rush past, Aria had brought her grimoire in front of her and a small spell circle had formed above the parchment. The woman reached out towards it with her open palm and a cloud of miasma had appeared to engulf one of the men. Discontent with leaving it as such, Aria swiped her arm to her side and the cloud seemed to have imploded as more of the toxic gas consumed the poor souls within a fifteen yalm radius of the epicentre.

Aymeric could only watch with reverent awe and fearful shock. While it is the second time that he has beheld Aria’s soul of the Summoner, he couldn’t help his sentiments. After all, the first time he witnessed her so consumed with rage - the day of Lord Haurchefant's death notwithstanding - was the day when the True Brothers of Faith took hostages within the Vault. The only other time it could be said that she was filled with such contempt was in her duel against the crown prince at the Royal Menagerie and even then they remained only rumors as no one dared seek confirmation. Even Commander Hext, Commander Aldynn, Lord Hien and Master Alphinaud couldn’t verify the truth, for her weapon had already deformed and left her empty handed when they reached her. 

It was at this time that Stryder had reached his side. The elder Vitali sibling had separated from the lord commander a bell ago to aid the chokepoint that the Gridanians and Domans were maintaining. The sight of his sister shocked him, but the alarm was heightened at the sight of that to which Aria brought to bear.

“Oh no,” Stryder gasped.  
Aymeric looked to Stryder with furrowed brows. “What is it?”  
Stryder clicked his tongue. “Aymeric, order the soldiers to fall back.”  
“What-“  
“Just do it!”

Unsure of what brought this on, it was understandable that Aymeric was hesitant. However, the unusual panic in Stryder’s voice couldn’t be ignored and thus prompted Aymeric to send the order out. The Eorzean soldiers fell back in a strategic retreat to form a wall behind the lord commander, remaining in battle stance.

It was then that Aria shifted her gaze over her shoulders. So consumed was she in laying waste to the fools that brought her beloved people down that she hadn’t realized the reason why her allies fell back. When she saw her brother, she inclined her head in silent thanks before she called out to her summon once more.

“Ifrit, _Inferno_ ,” she ordered.

The egi let loose a cry that startled and shook the Garlean soldiers at their core. At the sound of boiling bubbles, foot soldiers peered down to their feet to find that a glowing circle had manifested on the earth below. They were given no quarter, for the circle erupted in pillars of fire that seared armor and open skin. The smaller vanguards were unable to escape as well, for the burning intensity of the hellfire led the machina to overheating and self-destructing as a result.

Despite this, the pair of magitek colossus that remained untouched stomped forward and the sight of it only fed into the fire that was Aria’s fury. It was then that she released a growl of her own and she repositioned herself forward as her grimoire hovered in mid-air in front of her. When Stryder saw the sight of an aetherial dragon’s head take shape for a brief moment before his sister’s figure, he knew immediately what was going to happen.

“Everyone, get down!” he barked in order.

Aymeric instinctively did what he was told as he got to his knees to lower himself, the sight of it prompting the others of the Alliance to do the same. In seconds, Aria had thrown her arms forward and where the colossus stood, a giant beam of sky-blue light passed judgment on the magitek. The potency of the attack was so strong that it had destroyed and rendered the machines unusable before they overheated and exploded as a result of the damage. 

Debris shot out in all directions and if it wasn’t for Stryder telling everyone to lay low, many saw the exact places where they would have been impaled by the sharp corners of steel - or worse. For whatever pieces came precariously close, Stryder had taken position with his knives to deflect them. In Aria’s case, the egi took to defending her by swiping at debris flying in her direction.

“Aria…” Aymeric called out helplessly, unsure of what to say.

Whatever answer the Warrior had died on her lips and was replaced by a frustrated scream at the sight of Garlean reinforcements. While there wasn’t another colossus in sight, the quantity making up for it in the form of vanguards and foot soldiers was more than enough to make Aria snap.

_“ **GET THE HELL OUT ALREADY!** ”_

At her words, Ifrit-egi had released a cry as its shape contorted and erupted into a burst of light. What replaced it had veteran soldiers from Gridania, Limsa Lominsa and Ul’dah quaking with fear as it took them back to the battle of Carteneau five summers past - to the eve of the Seventh Umbral Calamity and the fall of Dalamud. For none other than the dragon that wreaked havoc took the egi’s place, or rather a demi version of it, glowing the same hue as the beam that the dear Warrior of Light unleashed on to the magitek like child’s play. With the way that some Garlean soldiers faltered on their forward march, there were veterans among them that had also fought in that same war.

“Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the final chorus,” Aria hissed, the words causing Aymeric to shiver as it brought back memories of the final battle against Nidhogg’s shade at the Steps of Faith.

In preparation, the dragon seemed to have shifted itself, taking position directly in front of Aria as it leaned back as if taking in a breath.

“Bahamut, _Akh Morn_ ,” she commanded.

The demi-Bahamut shifted forward with effort and released the selfsame attack that Aria had done on the magitek. However, its version was far stronger and deadlier as it did away with all unfortunate to be within its radius … and was able to be fired twice in rapid succession.

Soon, Aymeric saw that the Garlean reinforcement was no more.

“Dearest sister, what _happened_ to you…” Stryder muttered softly.

The blows that Aria had dealt wasn’t enough to stop her. When demi-Bahamut had been dismissed and Ifrit-egi returned to her side, Aria had turned towards the pathway that Stryder came from that led to the Twin Adder and Doman units. From the way she moved, it was as if the energy she spent was a minute detail as it clearly did not appear to have taxed her whatsoever. It was then that Aymeric turned to Stryder for an explanation, one that the rogue gave as he urged the lord commander to his feet.

“She...there is a reason why Aria does not use her skills as a Summoner,” Stryder answered. “Because she feared that if she lets loose her true potential, she would end up hurting those she cared about in crossfire.”  
“But how?” Aymeric shouted. “How could she have managed to learn such a thing, let alone control it?”  
Stryder shook his head. “Even I am not privy to such information and will not be unless the gift the Mother had granted me is put to use. We all have our talents, Aymeric. However, not all of them are as pure as we wish for them to be.”

Aymeric knew he was right. Seeing the condition that Aria was in was all too similar to how she appeared the day of Lord Haurchefant’s passing. There was an insatiable thirst for blood, a bottomless hunger for vengeance that would not soon be amended unless she had fulfilled what it was she wanted to do. In this case, it was to send the enemy running back to their side of the battlefield with words of mercy on their lips...only to be denied as the last thing they see before they die is that of the Warrior’s face - or a dragon’s wing.

Yet, somehow, Aymeric knew. He knew that, at the end of it all, Aria’s exhaustion from having protected this so-called First and her homeland of Eorzea will have its toll on her. It was in her exhaustion that the true colours of her nature are revealed and she will most certainly regret revealing such a closely kept secret. The fear of being alienated, of being singled out because of that to which she was birthed with, it resonated with him. Perhaps it is what drew him to her in the first place, for although it was circumstance that they met, it was fate that held them together.

He knew he would be damned if he allowed her to let loose her tears in isolation.

“Alliance, fall back to base camp and ready to march forward to aid the Seedseer’s unit!” Aymeric ordered.

As soldiers turned to trickle outwards, some remaining to hold and reinforce the line, Aymeric turned and ran after Aria with Stryder at his side. They passed by collapsed bodies and unconscious soldiers amidst their chase until finding her once more blocked by the enemy, just in time to see them incapacitated from another one of Ifrit-egi’s Infernos.

“Brave enough to follow, I see,” Aria observed, fighting hard to swallow back tears she was desperate to shed.  
Knowingly, Aymeric smiled. “If you do not remember, mine dearest, Ishgard had been fighting against dragons for over a thousand years. Seeing one more comes to no surprise.”

The sound of his reassurance made Aria’s heart flutter and sent enough joy her way to cause her to smile. She internally praised Halone and thanked the Twelve for blessing her with people that she could forever keep confidence in, people that wouldn’t run away when she lost control of herself. It served as a reminder; Aria’s reason for fighting on her return was no longer enacting retribution for the casualties the Garleans caused to her people. It was to protect the hearts that continued enkindling the hope in hers.All that they are and all that they could be.

  
For who else could she love, but them?

**Author's Note:**

> * The background story for Aria is that her mother, Evangeline Lukos, was the heiress of the noble House Lukos that specialized in the arcane arts and conjury. However, when her parents - aka Aria's grandparents - refused to acknowledge the man that she had fallen in love with, a lowborn orphan named Janus Vitali, she had stolen into the night and eloped with her love. It was then that they sought asylum in Limsa Lominsa, where Stryder and Aria were born. Aria doesn't have a good relationship with her grandparents, but at this point they are learning to compromise and eventually see more than meets the eye.


End file.
